Daily Inspiration: Meet Crystal Phillips

Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Phillips

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I was born to a single mama in South Florida. For the first five years, we lived with my grandparents and uncle in a tiny 3/1 cinderblock house in Immokalee, Florida. Immokalee is a very migrant-worker-centered, tiny town. We spoke Spanish in the home. It was a very love-filled place to grow up in, with minimal belongings, given that we were an impoverished family. All that changed when my mom met my dad. He’s my stepdad, but since he’s been my dad since I was five and is one of the best human beings I know, he is my dad. My dad is very analytical; he has a computer science background and worked at the local clinic. My mom and I moved in with him and his 2-year-old daughter, and my entire universe changed.

I went from a quiet, love-filled home, where I was mostly outside, climbing trees and exploring, to a very sheltered, suburban town called Cape Coral. No one looked like me or spoke Spanish, and things quickly changed. I wasn’t permitted to talk in Spanish anymore; I was bullied in school until I got to high school for being so different. My saving grace was always my creativity. In third grade, my teacher told us to bring our favorite toy for show-and-tell. My dad made a good income, but I still played with things I found ‘amazing.’

Around that time, my grandpa had gotten me this little plastic jewelry set from the Dollar General store, but I loved the thin plastic mold that held the plastic necklace! Lol, I found a brightly colored turtle charm at the park. Let me try to describe this charm. It had a little hole in the mouth, and at the other end of the charm, it had a ‘knobby,’ round peg thing so that you could make a bracelet or necklace with these animals; all had a hole on one end and knobby round peg to create a string. But I had only found this one turtle charm, and the details were unique! I filled the channels in the necklace mold with water and imagined I had created a little moat for my turtle! I was so excited to show it off, my trash toy. But when I got to class, everyone had all these massive, unique, giant toys that were very expensive.

My 3rd grade teacher was very creative; he was a fantastic artist. After I grew up, I learned more about his story and that he faced monumental personal challenges, which explained his massive, tender, loving heart. Mr. Adamick was his name. When it was my turn to show my toy, he could see from across the room that I had this little trash toy, and he so gently asked me to show the class. All the other students turned to look at my little creation and started laughing and making fun of my trash. I put my show-and-tell away and shook my head no. I was super shy, and I knew my English still wasn’t great, so the kids sneering on top of English not being my first language; I opted out of the show and tell and took my belongings home that day. I wasn’t sorry that I didn’t do the presentation; I still loved what I made; it felt more like the kids weren’t ready to look at things as I saw them. I knew I was different in the obvious ways; I treasured hugs and tiny things like the magic in items people usually see as trash.

Growing up, creating was like air to me. I had to go out into this giant world and pretend to act a certain way that never felt ‘real’ and never felt authentic. My mama, she let me be a dreamer. She (to date) is my biggest cheerleader. My dad still keeps me grounded. I’ll have ideas, and he’ll take me through why things may or may not work. He’s always been very successful in business and is part of the reason I have an entrepreneurial spirit. As I got older, I married, had two children, and started selling my creations in my business, “Ladybug On A Leaf Designs.” The name is based on a poem I wrote when I was 18. I’m currently collecting poems from my whole life in a book with illustrations. Ladybug On A Leaf Designs is where I sell my goodies. I started with “upcycled” jewelry from my dad’s old computer parts—ornaments made from old keyboard keys. I sell prints of my paintings; it’s a mod-podge store I started in 2010. I have loved every second of creating and running it.

More recently, I created a line of large plushies accompanying stories I’ve written. It’s a branch of Ladybug on a leaf design, but this project is called “Foodie Friends.” They are heart-centered characters, which I’ve written to help teach kids kindness, non-judgment, being helpful, etc. I’m illustrating the pages for the book now and have released two characters in giant plushies. While I was making that, last year in 2023, I created and published a children’s book called “Coffee Shop Critters, Cody, Porter, and the Crumbly Mess.” It’s a story of two mice that live in a coffee shop that has tons of fun, but then make a giant mess of things. The sweet coffee shop owner plans to kick them out, so Cody and Porter realize their poor behavior and clean up the shop, ending with them being allowed to stay there. This was the first of three books I have in my head with those sweet but mischievous characters. But that was my practice for my Foodie Friends project. The main character, Tammy Toast, is a loving, motherly figure. That project was birthed after my divorce from my husband and our 20-year relationship. My children are in their late teens and spend 2-3 nights with their dad. During the holidays in 2022, I still needed to get used to the schedule and separation.

Though their dad lives one minute away, and we do super with our co-parenting, I was unfortunate to go through the start of the holiday season separately, so I did what I do best: drowned myself in creating. I bought a super cheap but very fuzzy blanket at Walmart (I think it was a fluke that was priced so low). It was a king-sized, cream-colored blanket for only 5 dollars! Don’t ask me why, but I created a giant toast plushie out of it. A friend called and asked what I was doing; I answered, “Making toast.” She couldn’t picture what I was doing and asked for pictures. I was nearly done. I just had to add the stuffing, and she loved it. Since it was the holiday season, she asked if she could have one! I agreed, and then another good friend of mine called and asked the same question; she also requested pics; she also fell in love with my Tammy toast and asked me to make one for her youngest daughter (whom I love and adore) so, of course, I said yes and the rest was history. I spent that long Thanksgiving weekend sewing giant plushies.

My son made a video of me, which went viral, and I got into producing my characters that way. So last year was spent learning about Manufacturers, cost, shipping, and creating another business; it’s been the most delightful adventure. I made giant toasts, pop tarts, a strawberry, french fries, hamburgers (I’ll include links to the videos that show them all), cookies, Hawaiian rolls, and even a few ‘bad guy’ characters, which I’m so excited about because they’re not bad at all, they’re just pre-judged and end up being loved by the other characters. You’ll have to wait for Book 2 of foodie friends to come out and see. But all the characters are for sale in small sizes on my website, foodiefriends.com, and my Etsy shop, ladybugonaleaf.etsy.com. All of this is to say that every part of my life’s story is wrapped up and has affected my stories and creations as an adult. I’ve been blessed to have loving, supportive family and friends who have carried me through every phase of this crazy thing called life.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I feel like this was explained in my very long, last answer, but to make it short. In my very early years, poverty and racism played a huge role in molding me into who I am. I’ve never wanted to make anyone feel the way I was made to feel as a young child. My mama taught me to ‘kill them with kindness.” She taught me never to get down in the gutter with anyone if they’re throwing ugliness at you. She taught me to bless those who mean you harm. Franny Fry is based on my mama’s loving nature in my Foodie Friends characters. Franny Fry is a teacher in stories and teaches all her kids to be kind to everyone.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My dad wanted a boy, so he taught me everything he knew. So, with that background, I create in every medium. Woodworking, painting in oil, watercolor, acrylic, drawing, poetry, story writing, illustration, jewelry making, plushies, toys, cloth purses, accessories for dogs (dog/pet collar flowers), photography, basically if I see it, I try to make it. I pour my heart and soul into everything, so everything I make always feels like I birthed a child; then, I hope someone loves it as much as I do to make it a part of their life. I don’t have one thing I love more than another; just creating is like air. My closest friends can always tell if it’s been a while since I made something (if I get too into the business/marketing side of things), and they’ll twist my arm until I sit in my studio and make things. I can feel it, too; I get grumpy if I don’t carve out ‘creative’ time, so I’ve had to learn to be strict with balancing life/business/creativity, which can be challenging but crucial for survival. We all need air!

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Peace. When peace resides in one’s soul for more than a few moments. Peace, above all else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.foodiefriends.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaman_crystal/
• Facebook: https://linktr.ee/shamancrystal?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=c1ab0d8d-63bc-485e-9c43-8757f598e498
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shamancrystal